Electrical fixture fastener



Dec. 15, 1959 N. A. APPLETON ETAL ELECTRICAL FIXTURE FASTENER Filed Feb. 27. 1957 INVENTORS NORTON A. APPLETON ARTHUR I. APPLETON United States Patent ELECTRICAL FIXTURE FAS-TENER Norton A. Appleton, Chicago, and vArthur -I. Appleton,

Northbrook, Ill., assig'nors .to Appleton Electric Com- .pany, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 27,1957,-Serial No. 642,858

7 Claims. (Cl. 248-216) This invention relates to electrical fixtures and more particularly to a bar hanger for supporting electrical outlet boxes or the like between spaced 'wooden building members such as floor joists or wall studs.

in the co-pending application of Arthur I. Appleton,

Serial No. 597,242, filed July '11, 1956. "When installing this type of hanger, ordinarily the workman holds the hanger in position by hand while hammering nails which provide permanent fastening means, through the ends of the hanger into the wooden building members.

The general object of this invention is to provide 'a retainer for fastening an electrical fixture, such as an outlet box, in place on building joists or-studs. A'related object of the invention is to provide an integral nailing prong for fastening a member to a wooden support.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide an outlet box support with a retainer formed as an integral nailing prong'bent such that with the fixture held against the studs or joists, the nailing prong may be given a light blow as by a hammer to drive the toe of the prong which is sharpened into the surface of the wooden members. Permanent nails may then be installed, and particularly in overhead installation and awkward ceiling work, a saving-in time and reduction in cost of installation results.

Another object is to form the integral nailing prong by striking the same out 'of flat sheet material such as is provided by the end flange 'of the bar hanger support for the box. A further object is to provide an integral nailing prong wherein the sharpened point of the toe of the prong lies substantially within the opening in the sheet material left by the metal removed therefrom to make the prong. Thus the nailing prong is protected against being broken off or bent during shipment v.or handling. Moreover, due to the pointbeing shielded or concealed, the danger of injury-to tworkmen from cuts or scratches is reduced.

,-A further object is to provide a construction' for the fixture retainer which is inexpensive to manufacture yet which is durable and sturdy so as to be satisfactoryunder conditions of rough handling to which devices of this general type are frequently exposed.

Otherobjects will appear from the-following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a .perspective view of a bar hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention;

"Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the bar hanger shown in Figure 1, supported between floor joists or wall studs; I

Fig. '3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the integral nailing prong formed .in the end "flanges of the bar hanger of the previous figures;

Fig.4 is asectional view illustratingthe nailing prong taken through the median line of the end flange and hanger; and

Figs. '5 and 6 are views in end elevation and transverse section illustrating the end flange of the bar hanger and the integral nailing prong.

While the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment, it will .be understood that it is not intended 'to be limited to such embodiment but is intended to include all modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents which are included within the spirit and scope .of the appended claims. 7

Referring to the drawings, the present invention is .shown embodied in an extensible bar hanger having telescoping sect-ions 11, ;121and a hanger stud13 which is employed for holding .an outlet box '14 or the like electrical fixture in place. This hanger stud 13 also .serves for locking the telescoping sections together so .-.as to :fix the overall length ofthe hanger.

The hanger .also .has end flanges 15a, 15b provided with openings 16a, 16b for receiving nails for permanently fastening .the hanger between wooden building members such as floor or ceiling joists or wall studs 17a, 17b as indicated generally in Fig. 2.

In carrying out the invention, the outlet box 14 is temporarily fastened in place on the joists or studs 17a, 17b by means of an L-shaped nailing prong or retainer 18a, 18b which, .as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is struck out of deformable fiat sheet material presented by that portion of the support for the box that lies adjacent the surface of the wooden building members. In the present instance the box 14is supported by the bar hanger :which has 'end'fianges 15a, 15b lying adjacent the joists orstuds. The nailing prong 18a, 18b is therefore struck out of thexm'etal of the hanger ends, .so'that with the ends of the hanger held flat against the beam .or stud on which the hanger is to be fastened, the bent prong may be given a light hammer blow and the toe portion 20, 20b of the prong which has'a sharpened point 21a, 21b driven into the surface of the wood for supporting the'hanger. The hanger may be fixed in permanent pos'itionwith ordinary nails. It is contemplated that the nailing prongs 18a, 18b may be struck out in a punch press type forming operation, and thus at a :relativelylow cost added to the hanger construction.

For the purpose ofstrengthening the'nailingprong, as appears most clearly in Figs. 3 and 6, the shank'portion 19a, 19b and toe portion 20a, 20b thereof maybe'forrned With a slight transverse CUI'VO'SO :as to resist bendingand retain substantially the original angular relation and form. As shown in Fig. 3, the shank 19a of the L-shaped prong 18a is integral with the end flange 15a of the hanger and extends out of :the plane of the surface of the flange with the :toe portion curved :back along an are I struck from about the hinge point of "the prong as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 6, so that the point 21a which is left sharpened from the forming die lies within the opening 22a left in the material of the flange. The point is thus protected somewhat against being bent during shipping or other handling.

To insure that the point of the nailing :prong will enter the wood of the supporting stud or joist-ata proper angle, the free end of the toe portion 20a, 20b of the nailing prong 18a, 18b is shown herein carried rso as to enter an adjacent wooden member at substantially right angles-to the face or surface ofcthe member. This angular relation is shown in Fig. 6. In order to hammer the prong into the wood, the prong should bestruck by blows directed substantially parallel to thevtoe, as herein shown at about right angles to the wooden support, .al though .the particularangle would vary according to the angle the :toeis carriedby theshank. Due to .thecurved configuration of the toe and shank, however, as the nailing prong 18a, 18b is driven into the member the point 21a, 21b of the nailing prong describes an upward curve defined ,by the are I. As illustrated in Fig. 4, with the toe portion 20a and point 21a completely embedded, the shank poriton 19a of the nailing prong lies substantially in the plane of the end flange 15a. It is a feature of the present invention that the embedded nailing prong offers substantial resistance to removal from the wood while yet enabling removal by prying as with a screwdriver or claw hammer. As will be observed, the curved nailing prong 18a under normal conditions retains substantially the same set placed in it by the forming die while it is being driven into the wooden supporting member, pivoting about its hinge without exerting substantial force on the bracket tending to shift it from the original placement on the support. The shank portion 19a on the other hand lies substantially flat against the outer surface of the wood, having lost substantially all the set placed in the prong by the forming die. The toe portion to be extracted from thewood is required to describe a curved withdrawing path which the flat configuration of the flanged ends of the bar hanger prevents. Thus the nailing prong clamps the flange to the stud or joist and temporarily yet securely holds the hanger in position. The nail openings 16a, 16b in the end flanges and on each side of the nailing prong are provided for receipt of ordinary nails which may be driven in place to hold permanently the fixture in position.

It will be readily appreciated that in installing an outlet box with a bar hanger having the retainer means of the present invention, after having obtained the adjustment in length to accommodate the particular stud or joist spacing involved, with one hand the bar hanger is held in place with the flat outer surface of one end flange against the surface of the respective floor joist or stud. The workman then with a hammer may strike the end of the hanger a sharp blow to drive the nailing prong into the wood, repeating this operation to fasten both ends of the bar hanger. Particularly in awkward ceiling work in overhead installation between joists, once the bar hanger has been supported in place by means of the integral nailing prongs, both hands are left free so that permanent fasten ing devices may also be hammered into place using the nail openings 16a.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an outlet box support made of sheet metal and adapted to be permanently installed against a wooden building member, a retainer for holding the support in place, comprising a nailing prong struck from the support, said nailing prong including a shank portion hinged to the support and a pointed curved toe portion angling from said shank to be driven into the surface of the wooden building member and at least partially embedded therein, said curved toe lying throughout its length along an arc struck from about'the hinge point, said shank having a length equal to the distance between the hinge point of the shank and the initial point of entry of the toe into the building member, said toe portion as it enters the wooden building member describing .a curve a tangent to which forms an included angle less than 90 relative to the shank so as to clamp the support to the wood.

2. A retainer for supporting an outlet box on a wooden building member comprising a nailing prong struck from a flat plate to leave an opening in the same, said flat plate providing means for mounting the box and supporting the same on the building member, said nailing prong including a shank portion formed'integral with the plate and projecting from one surface of the plate, and a reversely curved toe portion angling from said shank on a uniform curve throughout its length, the free end of said toe lying at substantially right angles relative to said plate and within the opening in the plate so as to be drivable as by a hammer blow directed at right angles to the plate into the surface of an adjacent wooden building member, said toe portion as it enters the wood describing a curve a tangent to which forms an included .angle less than 90 relative to said plate so as to clamp the latter to the Wooden member.

3. An integral fastener for nailing a sheet metal member to a support, said member being positionable against the support, said fastener comprising a nailing tang struck from the sheet metal of said member leaving an opening therein, said fastener having a shank hinged at one end to the member so as to extend away from the support engaging side of the member carrying a transversely curved toe terminating in a tip and angled toward the support engaging side of the member so as to enter the support through said opening in the member, said shank having a length about equal to the distance between the hinge point of the shank and the initial point of entry of the toe into the support, so that the tang is pivotable freely about its hinge by hammer blows directed substantially parallel to the toe and struck to drive the toe into the support, the transverse curve in the toe strengthening the same so that it retains its set while being embedded, said toe entering the support without exerting substantial force on the member tending to shift it from the original placement on the support.

4. An integral fastener for nailing a member to a support, said member being positionable against the support, said fastener comprising a nailing tang struck from the member leaving an opening therein, said fastener having a shank hinged at one end to the member, a longitudinally and transversely curved toe terminating in a point, said toe being carried at the other end of said shank and angling toward the support engaging side of the member so that the free end thereof enters the support through said opening, said toe lying throughout its length along an arc struck from about the hinge point at the said one end of the shank, said shank having a length about equal to the distance between the hinge point of the shank and the initial point of entry of the toe into the support so that the tang pivots about its hinge point while the toe of said tang is hammered into the support traveling in a curved path defined by the same are without exerting substantial force on the member tending to shift it from the original placement on the support, the transverse curve in the toe strengthening the same so that it retains the longitudinal curve while being embedded.

5. In a bar hanger for supporting an electrical box or the like between a pair of laterally spaced supports such as wooden joists or studs, a pair of coaxially connected elongated members adjustable relative to each other for changing the overall length of the hanger, said members being provided with flanges at opposite ends of the hanger formed substantially at right angles to the'axis of the elongated hanger members and adapted upon lengthwise adjustment of the members for positioning against such spaced supports, a pair of L-shaped nailing prongs one struck from each flange leaving an opening therein and carried on the inside face of the flange so that said flange is positionable for installation directly against the support, each of. said prongs including a shank portion formed integral with the respective flange so as to be hinged thereto and projecting inwardly away from the support engaging side of the flange, the shank portion of each prong'carrying a pointed toe portion angled toward the opening in the flange so that the toe portions of the prongs are drivable outwardly of the flanges through the respective openings into the supports by hammer blows on the prong directed substantially parallel to the toe portion thereof whereby said prongs when embedded lie substantially parallel with the axis of the hanger, the shank portion of each prong having a length about equal to the distance between the hinge point and the initial point of entry of the toe portion into the support so that the prong pivots about the hinge point while said prong is driven into the support, the toe of each prong having a strengthening transverse curve so that it retains its shape while being driven into the support.

6. In an outlet box support having flanges adapted to be permanently fastened to a wooden building member for supporting the box, a retainer comprising, in combination, a nailing prong having a shank hinged to one of said flanges and extending out of the plane of said one flange in a direction away from the support engaging side thereof, said shank having a curved sharpened toe portion angled so as to be drivable into the surface of an adjacent building member and embedded therein, said shank having a length about equal to the distance between the hinge point of the shank and the initial point of entry of the toe into the member, said curved toe lying throughout its length along an arc struck from about the hinge point so that the prong pivots about the hinge point while being driven into the member without exerting substantial force on the flange tending to shift it from the original placement on the member.

7. In an extensible bar hanger having cooperating elongated members and means for locking said elongated members together to fix the overall length of the hanger,

said members having end flanges and being adapted to be positioned between spaced wooden building members with the outside face of each flange abutting one of the building members, a retainer device comprising, in combination, an L-shaped nailing prong struck from each of the end flanges and carried on the inside face of the flange so that said flange is positionable for installation directly against the building member, each prong having a shank portion hinged to the respective flange and extending at an acute angle with respect to the latter, and a pointed toe portion angling from the shank toward the flange so as to be drivable into the surface of the adjacent building by hammer blows on the prong and directed substantially parallel to the toe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,850,616 Barnett Mar. 22, 1932 20 2,233,334 Austin Feb. 25, 1941 2,732,162 McKinley Jan. 24, 1956 2,804,797 Seely Sept. 3, 1957 

